The Newshound

ECB boss Christine Lagarde will quit nine months early, letting EU leaders pick her successor before France's election

Christine Lagarde, 70, whose exit has prompted rival bids for her succession from the Netherlands and Spain.
Christine Lagarde, 70, whose exit has prompted rival bids for her succession from the Netherlands and Spain.

Christine Lagarde, 70, has announced she will step down from the ECB presidency on 7 February 2027 — with eight months of her eight-year term still to run — in a departure timed to allow pro-EU French President Emmanuel Macron to influence the choice of her successor before Marine Le Pen could potentially win the spring French presidential election. The ECB's decision to hold its benchmark deposit rate steady at 2.5 per cent was announced simultaneously but was entirely overshadowed by the resignation news.

Lagarde, a former IMF chief who took the ECB helm in November 2019, steered the bloc through Covid, Russia's Ukraine invasion, two energy shocks and a historic inflation surge.

Klaas Knot, the former governor of the Dutch central bank, and Pablo Hernández de Cos of the Bank for International Settlements are regarded as the leading candidates to succeed her.

She appeared in her resignation video with plasters on her face, pausing to tell viewers she had undergone 'small surgery' and to 'get your skin checked regularly'.

MoreThe IndependentEuropean Central Bank boss resigns early to allow search for successor to beginDaily MailECB chief Christine Lagarde quits as eurozone economy stumblesThe TelegraphChristine Lagarde to step down from ECB nine months earlyThe GuardianEurope’s central bank chief Christine Lagarde to step down nine months earlyThe IndependentEuropean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will resign Feb. 7, ahead of termUPIEuropean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde to step downReutersChristine Lagarde: The outsider who led the ECB her wayAPEuropean Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will resign Feb. 7, nine months earlyReutersECB President Lagarde resigns effective Feb 7Irish TimesECB at critical point in advance of strategic reshuffle of key personnelNYTChristine Lagarde to Step Down as Chief of European Central BankIrish TimesKey candidates to replace ECB president Christine Lagarde
Read today's full feed at The Newshound →